2022-12-31-accounts

Trustees’ Annual Report for the period

From: 25/10/2021 to 31/12/2022

Charity name: Bridges for Enterprise

Charity registration number: 1196257

Objectives and Activities

Summary of the purposes of the charity as set out in its governing document	Para 1.17	To relieve and help to prevent the impact of poverty felt by the beneficiaries of social enterprises in developing countries, by providing such disadvantaged entrepreneurs with free advisory services, education and a global network of suitable mentors designed to enhance their business's ability to have long-term financial sustainability and social impact in their local communities.
Summary of the main activities in relation to those purposes for the public benefit, in particular, the activities, projects or services identified in the accounts.	Para 1.17 and 1.19	The charity has advanced its objectives to serve the public benefit in a significant way during the period covered by this report. To this end, the main activities conducted by the charity include supporting more than 20 social enterprises from Sub-Saharan Africa, South and Southeast Asia in its Incubation Programme. These social enterprises are positively impacting beneficiaries by selling and/or distributing life-changing products or services to low-income customers across a wide array of sectors, including in renewable energy, healthcare, education, and job skilling. The free support offered to these social enterprises in the Incubation Programme over a 6-8 month have improved their business models and positioned them in a financially advantageous manner to become more financially sustainable, in turn enhancing their likelihood to sustain and/or grow social and/or environmental impact for their beneficiaries.
Statement confirming whether the trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit	Para 1.18	The trustees of the charity have upheld high standards set forth by the Charity Commission to maintain focus on serving a public benefit set forth in the charity’s constitution.

Additional information (optional)

You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

Policy on grant making	Para 1.38	The charity did not make any grants to the social enterprises that it supports during the period covered by this report. However, should grants be made in the future, a policy on grant making will be developed and shared in forthcoming annual reports.
Policy on social investment including program related investment	Para 1.38
Contribution made by volunteers	Para 1.38	Part-time unpaid volunteers currently manage the charity and fulfil all its operations. Over 200 volunteers, who include both university students and full-time working professionals, currently work for Bridges for Enterprise in different locations around the world. Major volunteer hubs include the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Singapore, and India, where volunteers self-congregate to support the charity’s aim to positively impact the beneficiaries of underserved social enterprises in developing countries. To achieve this, volunteers work in different capacities and have various roles and responsibilities.
Other

Achievements and Performance

Summary of the main achievements of the charity, identifying the difference the charity’s work has made to the circumstances of its beneficiaries and any wider benefits to society as a whole.	Para 1.20	During the period covered by this report, the charity has made a significant contribution to improving the lives of the beneficiaries being served by the 20+ social enterprises who participated in the Incubation Programme. While each social enterprise serves a different set of low-income beneficiaries in their own manner, the support provided to each social enterprise by the charity typically could not have been obtained elsewhere for free. As an example, the charity managed to support a job skills-focused social enterprise in Kenya by designing a new pitch deck and building a stronger financial model that helped the enterprise secure a new grant to expand its operations and social impact. That particular social enterprise supports low-income at-risk youth in urban Nairobi slums, and with the new capital secured thanks to Bridges for Enterprise, the social

enterprise will be able to offer additional benefits to those customers by increasing training for employment and placing more youth into local job opportunities. Prior to joining the Incubation Programme, the social enterprise had struggled to find and pay for such kinds of advisory support.

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

Achievements against objectives set	Para 1.41
Performance of fundraising activities against objectives set	Para 1.41	No fundraising took place during the period covered by this report.
Investment performance against objectives	Para 1.41
Other

Financial Review

Financial Review
Review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the period	Para 1.21	£0
Statement explaining the policy for holding reserves stating why they are held	Para 1.22	The charity did not have any annual income or expenses during the period covered by this report. No policy is yet in place for holding reserves.
Amount of reserves held	Para 1.22	No reserves were held by the charity in the period covered by this report.
Reasons for holding zero reserves	Para 1.22	No annual income was earned.
Details of fund materially in deficit	Para 1.24	N/A
Explanation of any uncertainties about the charity continuing as a going concern	Para 1.23	There are no uncertainties pertaining to the continuation of the charity at present.

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

The charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising)	Para 1.47
Investment policy and objectives including any social investment policy adopted	Para 1.46
A description of the principal risks facing the charity	Para 1.46	The principal risks facing the charity include the sourcing of suitable disadvantaged social enterprises for the charity’s flagship Incubation Programme, sourcing of suitable volunteers for operational management and Programme delivery, and long-term financial sustainability.
Other

Structure, Governance and Management

Description of charity’s trusts:		Bridges for Enterprise supports early-stage social entrepreneurs in the developing world. Our flagship Incubation Programme helps them scale up and become investor-ready.
Type of governing document (trust deed, royal charter)	Para 1.25	Constitution
How is the charity constituted? (e.g unincorporated association, CIO)	Para 1.25	CIO
Trustee selection methods including details of any constitutional provisions e.g. election to post or name of any person or body entitled to appoint one or more trustees	Para 1.25	Apart from the first charity trustees, every trustee must be appointed for a term of three years] by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity trustees. In selecting individuals for appointment as charity trustees, the charity trustees must have regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of the CIO.

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

Policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees	Para 1.51
The charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works	Para 1.51	The charity’s organisational structure is decentralized by design. Management of the charity is led by a part-time volunteer team of 9 professionals who have been part of the charity for multiple years and serve in 2-year terms. Their leadership helps to support the 200+ volunteers who work across semi- autonomous ‘hubs’ across different cities around the world to advance the charity’s objectives.
Relationship with any related parties	Para 1.51
Other

Reference and Administrative details

Charity name	Bridges for Enterprise
Other name the charity uses
Registered charity number	1196257
Charity’s principal address	160 Kemp House, City Road, London EC1V 2NX United Kingdom

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

1 2 3	Trustee name	Office (if any)	Dates acted if not for whole year	Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (if any)
	Shaun Teo	Chair	25 October 2021 – Present	X
	Tanya Chiaranussati	Trustee	25 October 2021 – Present
	Jordan Wolken	Trustee	25 October 2021 – Present

– Corporate trustees names of the directors at the date the report was approved

Director name

Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity

Trustee name Dates acted if not for whole year

Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others

Description of the assets held in this capacity	No assets are held by the charity in this capacity.
Name and objects of the charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity’s objects	N/A
Details of arrangements for safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charity’s own assets	N/A

Additional information (optional)

Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)

	Type of adviser Name Address	Type of adviser Name Address	Type of adviser Name Address
	Volunteer	Aparupa Chakravarti	Nairobi, Kenya
	Volunteer	Angelous Kamande	Nairobi, Kenya
	Volunteer	Eric Golden	Tokyo, Japan
	Volunteer	Irina Scarlete	Vancouver, Canada
	Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)
	Jordan Wolken

Exemptions from disclosure

Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details

Other optional information

Declarations

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

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Signature(s)
Tanya Chiaranussati
Full name(s) Shaun Teo
Jordan Wolken
Position (eg Chair Trustee
Secretary, Chair, etc)
Trustee
Date
29 October 2023
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